Highway guardrail



Dec. 7, 1937. HElGHT 2,101,176

HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL Filed Nov 30, 1936 1N VENTOR. LEW/5 hf f/f/GHT.

BY v M ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 7, 1937 HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL Lewis H. Height, Denver, (7010.,assignor to Thompson Manufacturing 00., Denver, Colo.

' Application November 30, 1936, Serial No. 113,400

'2 Claims.

This invention relatesto a highway guard rail of the hub-height type.

One of the principal objections to a highway guard rail of this type,particularly in the mountain regions of the West, is that they act assnow fences, that is, they tend to interrupt the ground flow of the windand cause the snow to pile directly in front of them upon the highway.They also form obstructions to the operation of snow plows for removingthis snow.

The principal object of the presentinvention is to provide a guard railof this type which, in the winter, can be folded down so as not to forma wind break to pile up the snow.

Other objects of the invention are: to provide a resilient, metallicpost for'a guard rail which will assist in absorbing the shocks to whichthe rail is subjected; to provide an anchor for the rail which can bedriven directly into the earth without the necessity for digging postholes; to provide a rail in which the complete rail, including thesupporting posts or brackets, may be quickly and easily removed from theroad for grading or snow clearing purposes.

Other'objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of theinvention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency.These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is hadto the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numeralsrefer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout thedescription.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a section of the improvedguard rail in the elevated position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating a section of guard rail in thefolded position.

Fig. 3 is a rear face view of the post member and supporting bracket forthe rail.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the supporting bracket with the postmember shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a detail cross section through the supporting bracket, lookingdownwardly on the line 5-5, Fig. 3.

The improved rail comprises: a series of rail plates it formed with acurved or convex section 50 so as to present a convex face toward thehighway. The rail plates are supported upon inverted V-shaped, resilientarms I I supported from inverted, V-shaped bracket members l2.

The arms II are formed of a relatively wide 55 plate of spring steel ofsimilar material slotted on their inner legs so that they may be passeddownwardly beneath the heads of attachment bolts l3. The brackets 12 areformed of similar, relatively wide plates of spring steel orotherresilient metal shaped so as to have a vertical front leg and aninclined rear leg. Both legs terminate in tubular sleeves l4. At theupper portion of the bracket the two legs extend downwardly parallel toeach other and are held in spaced relation by means of a spacing sleeve15 about the bolt 13. V

The brackets I2 are detachably secured to what will be hereindesignated, post members l6,by means of removable pins ii. The postmembers it are preferably channelshaped members, the sides of which areout on an incline to form a sharp entering point 18 or edge on the frontface thereof. The pins ll extend through the two sides of the channelshaped post member and through the sleeves M of the brackets I2. Theymay be held in place therein, in any desired manner such as by means ofcotter keys Ill. The various sections of rail plate H] arejoinedtogether by means of clamping bolts 29, which also serve to attachthe rails to the spring arms II.

The bolts 28 pass through elongated bolt holes 2! in the plates to allowfor longitudinal expansion or contraction of the rail.

The device is installed by driving the post members into the fill at theedge of the road at the proper spaced-apart intervals. The bracketmembers [2 are then attached to the post members by .means of the pins Hto support the rail as shown in Fig. 1. 1

During the snow season the front pins ll of 'each post can be removedand the rail laid back from the road with the rear pins ll serving ashinge pins, as shown in Fig. 2. When in the latter position, the railwill not interfere with the wind and cause the snow to pile upon thehighway. It also spaces the rail well back from the road so it will notbe damaged by snow plows.

In particularly snowy locations, such as on the high mountain passes,etc. both pins l4 may be removed so that the rail may be placed alongthe road bank so as to be completely out of the way of snow clearingequipment. The post members 16 are perferably driven flush with the topof the highway so that they will not interfere with scraper snow plowsand other highway equipment.

While the invention has been illustrated applied to a highway guard railof the plate type, it is to be understood that the same is not limitedto this particular type of rail as it would apply equally well to a wirecable type, tension plate type, or any other form of rail.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may bevaried, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. 7

Having thus described'the invention, What is claimed and desired securedby Letters Patent 1. Means for supporting a highway guard railcomprising: a. post member extending into the ground and terminating atthe surface thereof; a bracket member consisting of an inverted V-shaped resilient member; sleeves formed in the lower extremities of thelegs of said bracket member; pins passing through said post member andthrough said sleeves for securing said bracket ber and through saidsleeves for securing said member to said post member; and means forsecuring a highway guard rail to said bracket member.

2. Means for supporting a highway guard rail comprising: a post memberextending into the ground and terminating at the surface thereof; abracket member consisting of an inverted V- shaped resilient member,sleeves formed in the lower extremities of the legs of said bracketmember; pinspassing through said post member and through said sleevesfor securing said bracket member to said post member; and means forsecuring a highway guard rail to said bracket member; the front leg ofsaid bracket member being substantially vertical and the rear legthereon being inclined to form a brace therefor.

3. Means for supporting a highway guard rail comprising: a post memberextending into the ground and terminating at the surface thereof; abracket member consisting of an inverted V- shaped resilient member;sleeves formed in the lower extremities of the legs of said bracketmember; pins passing through said'post membracket member to said postmember; and means for securing a highway guard rail to said bracketmember; said post member comprising a channel-shaped, metallic member,said bracket member being positioned between the two sides of saidchannel member, said pins passing through said two sides and saidsleeves.

4. A highway guard rail support comprising: a post member, U-shaped inhorizontal crosssection to provide two parallel side portions; a pair ofshafts extending between said side portions adjacent the upper extremitythereof; a bracket member extending upwardly from said shafts; and aguard rail supported by said bracket member, said shafts being arrangedso that if one of them is removed the other will serve as a hinge forsaid bracket member.

5. A highway guard rail support comprising: a post member, U-shaped inhorizontal crosssection to provide two parallel side portions; a pair ofshafts extending between said side portions' adjacent the upperextremity thereof; a bracket member extending from about one of saidshafts upwardly thence returning downwardly and, extending aboutthe'other of said shafts; and meansfor supporting a guard rail on saidbracket member. 7

6. Means for supporting a highway guard rail comprising: a post memberextending into the ground; a bracket member provided with pin openingsat its lower extremity; pins passing through said pin openings andengaging said post member for securing said bracket member to said postmember; and means for supporting a highway guard rail on said bracketmember.

'7. Means for supporting a'highway guard rail comprising: an anchoringmember for insertion in the ground; a bracket member secured to andextending upwardly from said anchoring memher, said bracket memberconsisting of an inverted U-shaped resilient member; a guard railsupport; a bolt securing said guard rail support to said U-shapedmember, said bolt passing through both the upwardly and downwardlyextending portions of said bracket member; and

a spacing member about said bolt between said latter portions; 7

LEWIS H. HEIGHT.

